Forgot to mention that CW does teach grammar.

Classical Writing, which you could begin in 3rd grade. You could begin R&S at 3rd grade also if you wish, or wait a year and begin with level 4. With CW Aesop, you can tailor the vocabulary level to fit your child, because you choose the words from the story to study and analyze. You can adjust the pace as best fits your needs.

I ask because I believe that Spielvogel's text has much more primary source material, while SWB's is more of a narrative. It's going to depend on what focus you want.

I use and really like it, but my ds is fairly motivated. The Lingua Latina or Oxford/Cambridge suggestions may be a better fit.

Did you know that you can go to the website and download this and last year's tests? I had a friend send me a test she didn't need and it was a great way to see where my ds was. Here's the link: National Latin Exam

Has anyone used this? It's based on the Foster books, which I like. I'd love to hear comments on it. TIA,

Singapore and Rod & Staff, however, are closer to a mastery approach than Saxon. They will repeat the spiral each year, but Saxon spirals around several times each year, making it an "incremental" approach.

"Ditto" is referring to Michelle's post.

Ditto - re: grammar & writing. I delay formal science, so don't have a good rec for you other than getting some good science reference books and explore her interests.

I agree with Eliana, and was going to ask if you read aloud to your dc on a daily basis. I'm not talking about picture books, but literature that is above their normal independent reading level. If you aren't comfortable doing this, then audiobooks are good, too. My children seem to engage more if I'm actually doing the reading. This is an incredible vocabulary builder, as you dc will hear new words correctly pronounced, and used in context.

I'm also planning to use the Covenant College one. It looks thorough.

He's using Latin in the Christian Trivium, and he is currently a little more than a third of the way through Volume 2. There are four Volumes, so I guess they would correspond with the four levels in the Nat'l Latin Exam. We are now quickening our pace a bit, so he should be somewhere in the middle of Volume III by next spring. LiCT has a good mix (in my opinion) of grammar and readings. There's an ongoing story every week to read and translate, Bible readings, and lots of sentence translation work. Thanks for the details. We're looking forward to taking the test next year.

Jane, Congratulations -- and a question: How do you know what level to take? Did you try the old exams from the website to see which was the best fit? I don't know if my ds should take Level II or Level III next year.

I can't wait for "Kindle" to come down in price so that we can download and read all those lovely free and public domain books that are available. :)

and sale/swap boards. I've bought mine at their convention booth, and have bought several used copies from people on this forum.

The "self-guided" book is geared more towards adults. You won't want it for the primary levels because the font size is smaller. We love Z-B and had very easy transitions to cursive using their books. I never purchased the teacher's manuals and did just fine.

Yes, yes! Also, some of what seems to be lit. is actually history, too, because it's a primary source from the time period. You're reading works by people who lived in the time period studied. I highly recommend it.

I think you should definitely watch the DVDs with him, so that you can pause for additional explanation, and see exactly where he's getting lost. THe overlays aren't as big of a deal. I was just asking questions to get a better feel for what you were doing with him.

Yes, let me clarify this. I bought one of the Guerber books to be my spine, but wanted to be able to read straight through it. Truthquest has you read only certain chapters, making the Truthquest guide the "actual" spine (i.e., the book that holds everything together). The comments provided were written in a very casual style (sort of like MOH) and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to read this out loud to my dc, or what. Then, the Guerber turned out to be a bit dry for my younger ones, so I switched to "Famous Men" and love it.

I think I tried to start too early. I blame it on the Veritas Press catalog! :D

Holly, are you watching the DVD with him? And are you looking at the Teacher's Manual as he teaches the lesson? Do you make him use the overlays?

I wanted something to read as a spine, instead of just a list of books loosely held together with comments. Truthquest definitely has strengths, but for me, seeing all of the choices listed with every lesson was very hard. I kept thinking that I needed everything on the list! We have replaced it this year with the Famous Men Series for my 3rd & 6th grade dc. We read out loud & discuss or narrate. Then they put things in their Medieval History Portfolios. We also build a timeline using the Homeschool in the Woods CD figures. Sometimes I have my 6th grade ds read supplemental stuff, or even the corresponding SOTW chapter. He writes descriptive paragraphs about what we've read for his portfolio. When we finish with Famous Men, we will be using the Genevieve Foster books and the Beautiful Feet guide for Year 3 in the cycle (explorers, colonial U.S., early modern period). This guide is designed for middle school/junior high aged students. HTH,

We like Apologia, too. General Science - 7th, Physical Science - 8th.

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